Spider-Man has continued to dominate the North American box office for a second week - but it is likely the superhero's reign will come to an abrupt end with the release of Star Wars.

In the two weeks since its release Spider-Man, starring Tobey McGuire, has taken $223.6m (£152.8m), breaking the $200m (£136,7m) barrier in record time.

It reached the massive milestone in just nine days, beating the previous record set by Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace which took 13 days to reap the same financial reward.

But Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is expected to claw back the record when it gets its worldwide release on Thursday.

Hayden Christiansen is Anakin Skywalker

Spider-Man studio Columbia is predicting it will become a feature in the top five list of the US and Canada's biggest movies of all time, nestling among the likes of Titanic, which took $601m (£410.8m) and Star Wars, which achieved $461m (£315.1m).

Strong fan base

But a stumbling block could be the release of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, which has received positive reviews from the critics.

The George Lucas intergalactic series already has one of the strongest fan bases of any movie in history, virtually guaranteeing it will have an impressive opening weekend.

No other film came close to emulating the success of Spider-Man in the latest box office chart, with erotic thriller Unfaithful at second place, taking $14.2m (£9.7m).